Jump-time unraveling of Markovian open quantum systems

Abstract

We introduce jumptime unraveling as a distinct description of open quantum systems. As our starting point, we consider quantum jump trajectories, which emerge, physically, from continuous quantum measurements, or, formally, from the unraveling of Markovian quantum master equations. If the stochastically evolving quantum trajectories are ensemble-averaged at specific times, the resulting quantum states are solutions to the associated quantum master equation. We demonstrate that quantum trajectories can also be ensemble-averaged at specific jump counts. The resulting jumptime-averaged quantum states are then solutions to a discrete, deterministic evolution equation, with time replaced by the jump count. This jumptime evolution represents a trace-preserving quantum dynamical map if and only if the associated open system does not exhibit dark states. In the presence of dark states, on the other hand, jumptime-averaged states may decay into the dark states and the jumptime evolution may eventually terminate. Jumptime-averaged quantum states and the associated jumptime evolution are operationally accessible in continuous measurement schemes, when quantum jumps are detected and used to trigger the readout measurements. We illustrate the jumptime evolution with the examples of a two-level system undergoing relaxation or dephasing, a damped harmonic oscillator, and a free particle exposed to collisional decoherence.